Anyone got an Irish jersey?

klop, but make it three

Mpower, I do admire how well Ireland has done, they’ve followed the New Zealand model with central type contracts and all player recruitment goes through Ireland. The decide which foreign players play for their teams. Ruan Pienaar had to go even though Ulster wanted to keep him. 

So for that I do admire them. Their ball in hand has improved a lot and so has their scrums. I just developed a dislike for Irish fans when I lived there. They are even worse than England when it comes to winning. 

I know when I was playing at Landsdown road and setting with some of the Irish boys. Remember Paul O Connor was there. That guy was a true athlete, always working on his fitness. 

I just said to the guys, your mind set is wrong. You always hope for a win. South African players don’t hope for one, they just believe they would win. 

I think Joe Schmidt did a lot of good work there. Ultimately, Irish players now believe they are winners. 

So on one hand I’m glad Ireland is doing so well and there are more competition in the top nations. 

But I’m also pissed off how poor the boks have done over the last 2 years. It was all Lions and just a 38% losing record. Not good enough. 

Especially when we have the stormers that are finalist 2 years in a row against these Irish teams. 

The stormers are a scratch team, not even our top players, just shows the talent we have. 

But with Stick and David’s we are nowhere. Where is Swys and Proudfoot 

Korn, the thing with New Zealand was that they were always nearly there. They are not at their very best, but are thereabouts what they were in 2003 even if the cast isn't as stellar. It was sheer arrogance that lead to the Boks thinking they were anywhere close to them. In both tests of 2021 the All Blacks ripped us apart. They couldn't finish, committing many handling errors. In the test Frans salvaged, they blew 5 try scoring opportunities. All they had to do was hold onto the ball. They did they same in the first test. In the loss to us last year, they did they same m, carving our defence apart. They wouldn't win the battle for territory, however, and that was the key factor. They conceded very soft tries trying to attack from deep. They corrected that in the next test and won, even though they were less dangerous ball in hand. Again, they conceded very soft tries. They found some combinations in the front row, and found a bit of balance in their tactics. This season they look more comfortable on the ball, and their defence is much stronger. They conceded a very soft try to Kolbe, and we didn't look like breaking them down once through the course of the game. Yet the arrogance goes on... "we won the last 60 minutes". Look at that second half, they thoroughly exposed us. The Kolbe try, the lineout try from a penalty that shouldn't have been, and a lone effort from Kwagga. We had nothing. When the Boks aren't good there is perhaps no other nation in world sport that lies to itself like South Africa. I don't have a problem with the world cup format, but do have a problem with the double ranking points. It kept afloat the Bok myth for a longer time than it ought to have been. In the past, the world champion usually didn't expose that flaw so much, but these Boks did. How? Because they were not a good team to begin with. They had one good game in the World Cup... the final. And even in that performance, we can pick apart the play of many players and issues with the gameplan. This draw looks like a good bit of karma for the 2019 schedule. 

I know, Saffex. But I’m still worried about our capabilities. 

Eddie jones will spring a surprise or he would regret not being able to coach England with this draw. Don’t think Oz is anywhere near the top teams. 

Two silver medals for him, only gold he got was with SA

Last year's loss to Wallabies is a warning. They only need a couple of key wins. They have plenty of ammunition, though losing their 13 is a bit of a downer. I wouldn't take them lightly. Any opponent who has one more gear than us is someone to be respected. They have another gear.